After the (rather brief) mystery surrounding TheObserver's return to posting as CongestedThoughts, I got to wondering how identifiable other posters are by their personalities, writing styles, and likes and dislikes. In other words, if other posters were stripped of their username and personal sig/avatar, how easily could we identify their posts? If they continued posting as normal, but with no direct reference to their previous identity, would they disappear into anonymity, or be recognized in a heartbeat? How well do you know your fellow PWH members?
I propose a game where we put the strength of people's cyberspace identity to the test. Volunteers will agree to temporarily trade their regular forum account for a generic one devoid of any visible characteristics besides a random color, with names like...
Cydentity Red
Cydentity Blue
Cydentity Green
Cydentity Yellow
Cydentity Pink
Cydentity Purple
...with premade avatars and sigs following these color schemes to help differentiate each account.
The aim will be to see how quickly each participant is correctly identified from just posting in the usual way. It won't be a competition, just an experiment, so I would discourage anyone from trying to either disguise their usual style and personality to remain hidden, or exaggerate it in an effort to be noticed. Volunteers must agree to be themselves, in all but name.
However, in trying to guess who's who, no quizzing will be allowed. Asking where they live to try and narrow down the options would be against the main intention, which is to see if they will out themselves in the normal course of posting, perhaps in ways they don't even expect.
So, does this sound like something fun and interesting to do, or a headache that'll detract from your enjoyment of the forum? It's just an idea so speak out if you hate it, or clap like a seal on speed if you're in favor - and volunteer if you want. Also suggest a time limit if you think it should be capped at a certain period.
Over to you.
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Topic: PWH Cydentity (Read 2317 times)